San Jose Makes Zero Progress Towards Vision Zero

By People Powered Press on July 14, 2017

Two years after vowing to prevent all car traffic related deaths “as soon as possible”, San Jose has actually made zero progress towards Vision Zero, with 28 people killed in car crashes so far in 2017. At this rate, the city’s car traffic death count will nearly break the record of 60 deaths in 2015, when Vision Zero was adopted by the City Council.

Pacifica residents Michael and Clarissa Quan became the city’s most recent victims on July 5, when they lost control of their motorcycle on Highway 87 near Taylor Street in downtown San Jose and were killed after falling 30 feet from the elevated highway. Ten pedestrians were killed after being struck by cars in San Jose in just this year’s first three months.

Five-year-old Aileen Quiroz, left, was killed in May 2013 by an SUV driver while walking in a crosswalk next to Parkview Elementary School in South San Jose. Photo: Ana Quiroz

According to San Jose’s 2017 – 2018 Two-Year Vision Zero Action Plan, 50 people died in car crashes in 2016, including 19 pedestrians and 4 bicyclists. The city says it will invest $96.7 million in safety improvements on 17 “priority safety corridors”, or streets on which one-third of 2016’s traffic deaths occurred. No improvements have been made to any of the 17 streets since the city’s original Vision Zero Plan was adopted in May 2015.

Politians like nice sounding BUZZ WORDS like “The Grand Boulevard Initiative” for El Camino Real, or “Vision Zero.” But with ZERO COMMITTMENT, all of these grand visions are DEAD – never even got off the ground!

Heba El-Guindy

Thank you for your interest and for raising readers’ awareness of the City’s Vision Zero Program. The City is currently in the different stages of planning, designing, or constructing safety improvements on eight of the 17 VZ priority safety corridors namely McKee, Jackson, Tully, White, Senter, McLaughlin, Monterey, and Story-Keyes using grants fund. This is in addition to the locally funded safety improvements in all ten Council Districts, and the ongoing expansion of the VZ education program. The success of VZ will take all of us, so please continue with your interest and please do not hesitate to contact the City’s DOT for details.